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Journal of Health Psychology Sep 2014This systematic review synthesizes the complex literature on prognostic awareness in cancer. A total of 37 studies examining cancer patients' understanding of their... (Review)
Review
This systematic review synthesizes the complex literature on prognostic awareness in cancer. A total of 37 studies examining cancer patients' understanding of their prognosis were included. Prognostic awareness definitions and assessment methods were inconsistent across studies. A surprisingly high percentage of patients (up to 75%) were unaware of their poor prognosis, and in several studies, even their cancer diagnosis (up to 96%), particularly in studies conducted outside of North America. This review highlights surprisingly low rates of prognostic awareness in patients with advanced cancer as well as discrepancies in prognostic awareness assessment, suggesting the need for empirically validated measures of prognostic awareness.
Topics: Awareness; Humans; Neoplasms; Prognosis
PubMed: 24157936
DOI: 10.1177/1359105313484782 -
Current Opinion in Neurobiology Apr 2003In this review we discuss how we are aware that actions are self-generated. We review behavioural data that suggest that a prediction of the sensory consequences of... (Review)
Review
In this review we discuss how we are aware that actions are self-generated. We review behavioural data that suggest that a prediction of the sensory consequences of movement might be used to label actions and their consequences as self-generated. We also describe recent functional neuroimaging experiments and studies of neurological and psychiatric patients, which suggest that the parietal cortex plays a crucial role in the awareness of action.
Topics: Awareness; Brain Mapping; Humans; Imagination; Parietal Lobe; Psychomotor Performance
PubMed: 12744977
DOI: 10.1016/s0959-4388(03)00043-6 -
Consciousness and Cognition Oct 2020Does a visual percept emerge to consciousness in a graded manner (i.e. evolving through increasing degrees of clarity), or according to a dichotomous, "all-or-none"... (Review)
Review
Does a visual percept emerge to consciousness in a graded manner (i.e. evolving through increasing degrees of clarity), or according to a dichotomous, "all-or-none" pattern (i.e. abruptly transitioning from unawareness to awareness)? The level of processing hypothesis (LoP; B. Windey and A. Cleeremans, 2015) recently proposed a theoretical framework where the transition from unaware to aware visual experience is graded for low-level stimulus representations (i.e. stimulus "energy" or "feature" levels) whereas it is dichotomous for high-level (i.e. the perception of "letters", "words" or "meaning") stimulus perception. Here, we will critically review current behavioral and brain-based evidence on the LoP hypothesis and discuss potential challenges (such as differences in LoP conceptualizations, awareness scale related issues, attentional confounds and divergences on experimental factors or statistical analyses) which might be of use for future research within the field. Overall, the LoP hypothesis is a recent and promising proposal that attempts to integrate divergent evidence on the graded vs. dichotomous emergence of awareness debate. Whereas current evidence validates some of the assumptions proposed by the LoP account, there is still much work to do on both methodological and experimental levels. Future neuroimaging studies might help to disentangle the current complex pattern of results found in LoP studies and, importantly, shed some light on the ongoing debate about the search for the Neural Correlates of Consciousness (NCC).
Topics: Awareness; Brain; Consciousness; Humans; Visual Perception
PubMed: 32950722
DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2020.103022 -
Trends in Cognitive Sciences Sep 2014Information integration and consciousness are closely related, if not interdependent. But, what exactly is the nature of their relation? Which forms of integration... (Review)
Review
Information integration and consciousness are closely related, if not interdependent. But, what exactly is the nature of their relation? Which forms of integration require consciousness? Here, we examine the recent experimental literature with respect to perceptual and cognitive integration of spatiotemporal, multisensory, semantic, and novel information. We suggest that, whereas some integrative processes can occur without awareness, their scope is limited to smaller integration windows, to simpler associations, or to ones that were previously acquired consciously. This challenges previous claims that consciousness of some content is necessary for its integration; yet it also suggests that consciousness holds an enabling role in establishing integrative mechanisms that can later operate unconsciously, and in allowing wider-range integration, over bigger semantic, spatiotemporal, and sensory integration windows.
Topics: Awareness; Brain; Consciousness; Humans; Information Theory; Mental Processes
PubMed: 24933626
DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2014.04.009 -
Proceedings of the National Academy of... Jun 2021The attention schema theory posits a specific relationship between subjective awareness and attention, in which awareness is the control model that the brain uses to aid...
The attention schema theory posits a specific relationship between subjective awareness and attention, in which awareness is the control model that the brain uses to aid in the endogenous control of attention. In previous experiments, we developed a behavioral paradigm in human subjects to manipulate awareness and attention. The paradigm involved a visual cue that could be used to guide attention to a target stimulus. In task 1, subjects were aware of the cue, but not aware that it provided information about the target. The cue measurably drew exogenous attention to itself. In addition, implicitly, the subjects' endogenous attention mechanism used the cue to help shift attention to the target. In task 2, subjects were no longer aware of the cue. The cue still measurably drew exogenous attention to itself, yet without awareness of the cue, the subjects' endogenous control mechanism was no longer able to use the cue to control attention. Thus, the control of attention depended on awareness. Here, we tested the two tasks while scanning brain activity in human volunteers. We predicted that the right temporoparietal junction (TPJ) would be active in relation to the process in which awareness helps control attention. This prediction was confirmed. The right TPJ was active in relation to the effect of the cue on attention in task 1; it was not measurably active in task 2. The difference was significant. In our interpretation, the right TPJ is involved in an interaction in which awareness permits the control of attention.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Attention; Awareness; Behavior; Brain Mapping; Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Middle Aged; Nerve Net; Parietal Lobe; Task Performance and Analysis; Temporal Lobe; Young Adult
PubMed: 34161276
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2026099118 -
Behavioural Brain Research Feb 2023Human faces convey essential information for understanding others' mental states and intentions. The importance of faces in social interaction has prompted suggestions... (Review)
Review
Human faces convey essential information for understanding others' mental states and intentions. The importance of faces in social interaction has prompted suggestions that some relevant facial features such as configural information, emotional expression, and gaze direction may promote preferential access to awareness. This evidence has predominantly come from interocular suppression studies, with the most common method being the Breaking Continuous Flash Suppression (bCFS) procedure, which measures the time it takes different stimuli to overcome interocular suppression. However, the procedures employed in such studies suffer from multiple methodological limitations. For example, they are unable to disentangle detection from identification processes, their results may be confounded by participants' response bias and decision criteria, they typically use small stimulus sets, and some of their results attributed to detecting high-level facial features (e.g., emotional expression) may be confounded by differences in low-level visual features (e.g., contrast, spatial frequency). In this article, we review the evidence from the bCFS procedure on whether relevant facial features promote access to awareness, discuss the main limitations of this very popular method, and propose strategies to address these issues.
Topics: Humans; Facial Recognition; Awareness
PubMed: 36113728
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.114116 -
The Neuroscientist : a Review Journal... Jun 2014Error awareness or detection is the conscious and subconscious processing to evaluate physiological signals that are different from a baseline or homeostatic level.... (Review)
Review
Error awareness or detection is the conscious and subconscious processing to evaluate physiological signals that are different from a baseline or homeostatic level. Migraine is a unique neurological disorder in which there are repeated attacks interspersed by attack-free periods. These attacks are dynamic and multidimensional in the sense that sensory, affective, autonomic, and cognitive functions are altered and these changes evolve differently before (pre-ictal), during (ictal), and immediately after (post-ictal) an attack. Thus migraine serves as a model disease to understand how the brain monitors and react to the presence of errors.
Topics: Awareness; Brain; Humans; Migraine Disorders
PubMed: 24047609
DOI: 10.1177/1073858413503711 -
Trends in Cognitive Sciences Jul 2011Mind wandering (i.e. engaging in cognitions unrelated to the current demands of the external environment) reflects the cyclic activity of two core processes: the... (Review)
Review
Mind wandering (i.e. engaging in cognitions unrelated to the current demands of the external environment) reflects the cyclic activity of two core processes: the capacity to disengage attention from perception (known as perceptual decoupling) and the ability to take explicit note of the current contents of consciousness (known as meta-awareness). Research on perceptual decoupling demonstrates that mental events that arise without any external precedent (known as stimulus independent thoughts) often interfere with the online processing of sensory information. Findings regarding meta-awareness reveal that the mind is only intermittently aware of engaging in mind wandering. These basic aspects of mind wandering are considered with respect to the activity of the default network, the role of executive processes, the contributions of meta-awareness and the functionality of mind wandering.
Topics: Attention; Awareness; Brain; Humans; Memory Disorders; Perception
PubMed: 21684189
DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2011.05.006 -
Anaesthesia Mar 1982
Topics: Anesthetics; Awareness; Cognition; Humans; Memory
PubMed: 7091599
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2044.1982.tb01095.x -
Neuron Jun 2017Desynchronized brain states are known to be associated with arousal and increased awareness, but the exact mechanisms are unknown. Here, we show that neuronal networks... (Review)
Review
Desynchronized brain states are known to be associated with arousal and increased awareness, but the exact mechanisms are unknown. Here, we show that neuronal networks displaying asynchronous irregular (AI) activity can implement a low-level form of awareness, due to their specific responsiveness properties. We emphasize the importance of the conductance state and stochasticity to explain these properties. We suggest that the purpose of cortical structures is to generate AI states with optimal responsiveness, to be globally aware of external stimuli.
Topics: Arousal; Awareness; Brain; Cerebral Cortex; Electroencephalography; Electroencephalography Phase Synchronization; Humans; Nerve Net
PubMed: 28595044
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2017.04.001